Arts and Culture

Fringe review: Tom Gleeson – Sure thing

Posted on: Wed 7 Mar 2018

Tom Gleeson is a very funny man. On his popular TV show ‘Hard Quiz’, he is also sarcastic, cynical and sometimes downright rude. So, thinking I knew what to expect, I went along to the Garden of Unearthly Delights last night, with eyes wide open.

And, yes, he was all of those things, but mostly very funny. Of course, there was a hapless audience member who came in for a goodly serve of those other traits and I’m sure that, for quite a while, he will regret ever mentioning the suburb where he lives.

The crowd was a fairly mixed bag and so were the jokes, so what I may not have laughed uproariously at, my neighbours did. Some jokes about TV and the ABC set the mood, then he rambled on to tales from Bali to battery hens and rather involved stories about his kids and we lapped it all up and asked for more.

The show concluded with a request from Gleeson, asking what it was people didn’t believe about his stories, which prompted shouted questions and thus provided him with the opportunity to go over his jokes again, this time rebutting any embellishments he had added. I personally couldn’t see the point in that, but a greater part of the audience seemed to, so the show finished on a high note.

There is no doubt that Tom Gleeson is as entertaining live as he is on TV, as is demonstrated by his sold out shows, so, if you want to see him, I suggest you book soon.He is at The Vagabond in the Garden of Unearthly Delights until Sunday. Check your Fringe guide for details.